We assume that all who have made a serious study of the matter are satisfied beyond all question that the Ransom provided for mankind is none other than the man Jesus, who presented Himself for this purpose when He came to John at Jordan, there to be immersed by him into that typical water grave. (Matt. 20:28).
Many Scriptures can be found to support this conclusion, and none that can be construed to oppose it, hence we accept it as sound and incontrovertible. This being so we know that Jesus was in no sense inferior to Adam before he transgressed: by this we mean that Adam possessed no power, no right, no quality of any kind whatever, now represented in Jesus, but this could not be said of any other man; so that Jesus, and Jesus only, God could use to restore all that was lost to the race through the sin of its federal head Adam. His sacrifice made possible a restoration of all things, spoken of by God through all the prophets of old (Acts 3:19-25). In this connection it is interesting to recall that Adam was given a partner (Eve) to share with him his privileges and his responsibilities, and the experiences of these two were almost identical in every way. So, in like manner, will the second Adam (Jesus), the regenerator of the first Adam's race, have a partner-"the Lamb's wife"-the Bride of Jesus. (Rev. 19:7; 21:9.)
It is clear to all students that the loss suffered by our race through Adam's transgression included life-human life in perfection, enjoyed amidst perfection. A restitution of all things must, therefore, include these two conditions, with all else rightly attached to them in God's plan.
How was so wonderful a thing to be accomplished as the providing, for all those condemned in Adam, an opportunity to gain to themselves everything that was lost by original sin? It is not necessary to point out that such an undertaking would be altogether beyond the skill of man, beyond his wit even to devise, much more beyond his power to perform. But "God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." [PE192]
A reverent mind has no difficulty in appreciating that the condemnation, the curse of death, rests quite justly upon the whole race; nor is there any difficulty in recognizing the wisdom of condemning all in one man, seeing that this made possible the redeeming of all by one. To explain the philosophy of this redemption requires more than human intelligence however, and nothing but enlightenment by the Holy Spirit could make it possible. If the Lord can use this pen to help make more clear some of the hidden mystery, how grateful we all shall be.
In the first place we would remind ourselves of the sentence passed on Adam by God: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Or in other words: "In the day thou eatest thereof dying thou shalt die." The matter is summed up by the Apostle Paul as follows: "The wages of (the) sin is death." (Rom. 6:23.)
Seeing the instructions of God were disregarded, and Adam willfully transgressed (1 Tim. 2:14), there can be no question of the justice of the death sentence, and the only hope for a future existence for the race lies in a resurrection from the state of death (Rom. 5:18).
The penalty for sin-death-passed upon all men in that all were condemned in the one transgression, the sin of one man. (Rom. 5:12.) To make it possible for the race to escape this curse of death Jesus died-"The just for the unjust." His eternal extinction as a man-the corresponding price-meets the original sentence as a substitute for Adam and his race. He was "delivered up on account of our offenses"-"The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Had sin never entered into the world Jesus could not have died, for "the wages of sin is death." Now that He has died for us our reconciliation with God is possible, and had God so planned the matter the resurrection of the human race could have been long since.
We can see that the death of the man Jesus meets the penalty-"the wages of sin." Thus guaranteeing an opportunity of life to all. But to raise humanity to life and perfection requires more than this at His hand; they are still held in bondage to sin and death; it is His part to break the bonds of death and set the captives free in God's due time. The only way to accomplish this great work will be to give life to the poor captives; that indeed will break death's bonds, and set the prisoners [PE193] free! "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death" (Hos. 13:14); "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
When speaking of the Ransom it is necessary to remember that it means-a price to correspond, just that. One man brought condemnation-death, and one man, the man Jesus, provided the Ransom for all.
The Ransom, provided by Jesus is the price necessary to set men free from the power of death. Mankind has no option but to come forth from the tomb in due time (Hos. 13:14; John 5:29), because the ransom has been provided in their behalf.
As matters stand at the present time we see that not only has Jesus voluntarily met the penalty for man's sin-when He by the grace of God tasted death for every man (Heb 2:9)-but, additionally, the vast majority of the human race have also suffered death on account of the same sin. What a contrast is here presented, however! In the case of the race a penal death, from which they require to be redeemed. In the case of Jesus a sacrificial death, providing the Ransom, the means of redemption for us, and for all. This sacrificial death Jesus spoke of as a baptism-"I have a baptism to baptized with," a baptism of death; it was the consummation of the bitter cup God poured for Him.
The sin which made the death of Jesus possible, and necessary, was the sin of the poor world of which we all formed part-"dead in trespasses and sins." (Eph. 2:1.) How remarkable it seems that God's plan provides for others to suffer this sacrificial death with Jesus, following in His steps. Not to provide the Ransom however, for this He had already found. To James and John Jesus says "Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized" (Mark 10:39). We recall that Jesus was thus baptized for the dead; and the Apostle refers to the like experience which comes to others when, in commenting upon the resurrection of the dead, he says: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" "And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?" (1 Cor. 15:29-30.)
The explanation why those who are baptized for the dead stand in jeopardy every hour can be understood when we realize that these form God's first-fruits, who have been ransomed and redeemed by Jesus and whose ransomed life has been given up to God a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). It is as new creatures in Christ they stand in jeopardy: their ransomed life sacrificed, they now have set before them the one hope of their calling-"the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 4:4; Philip. 3:14). It is a question of eternal life or eternal death for them. [PE194]
The sin for which Jesus died remains upon the race still, the curse continues, and this makes it possible for those first ransomed by Jesus, and therefore having a living and acceptable sacrifice to offer, to be baptized into Jesus' sacrificial death (Rom. 6:3). They are first passed from death unto life (John 5:24) so that they might die with Jesus. In John 6:44-58, the Lord sets the matter before us; the essence of which can be found centered in one verse (verse 53,) which should be read in conjunction with Leviticus 17:10-11, where one feature is typically shown. To eat (assimilate) the flesh of Jesus (by faith) means the appropriating of His human life, and drinking of the blood at the same time makes necessary the laying of that life down as part of His great sacrifice for sin-drinking the cup with Him (Mark 10:39): the cup must not pass, "drink ye all of it." (Matt. 26:27.)
It is recognized by students of the Bible that we are living in the antitypical Atonement Day, a time of sacrificing for the purpose of atonement, during which "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain"-afflicting their souls all the day long (Leviticus 16:29-30). The Man Jesus was sacrificed, ordered up, over nineteen hundred years ago, and the continued sacrifices which have followed have consisted of those who have denied themselves, and taken up their cross and followed Him. That there would be further sacrifices following the sacrifice of the man Jesus is set forth clearly in the book of Hebrews in chapter ten. In chapter nine, verse 23, we read: "It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these (the blood of bulls and goats); but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices (plural) than these." Then in chapter ten, verses 9 and 10, we read "He taketh away the first (typical), that He may establish (not fulfill) the second; by the which will (purpose) we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." The authorized rendering of verse 12 is not complete; the full text can be seen in the literal rendering of the Diaglott New Testament which reads-"He but one on behalf of sins having offered a sacrifice for the continuance (Lexicon: prolonged, extended) sat down at the right hand of God thenceforth waiting till may be placed the enemies of Him a footstool for the feet of Him. By one offering He has perfected for the continuance those being sanctified." He has been waiting for nearly two thousand years and waits still, whilst those who are perfected and sanctified continue the "better sacrifices," which He established for the cleansing of the things heavenly (Heb 9:23). When this work of sacrificing is complete the Lord will begin to deal with the world, and will quickly put all enemies [PE195] under His feet. We read: "This is the covenant I will make with them after those days," after the days of waiting during which the "continued " sacrifices are completed. God says He will put His "laws in their hearts, and on their minds will He write them," and adds: "And their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more," then no longer will offerings for sin be needed.
The Scriptures already referred to make clear that there is a oneness with Jesus which His followers experience preparatory to the oneness of glory to follow on the spirit plane of being.
How can this oneness be defined? It is a fellowship with Him in the sin-offering; a fellowship in atonement; but not in the Ransom, which provides the intrinsic value which makes atonement.
None of the fallen human race shares in this "oneness" when in their fallen state. To have fellowship with Jesus in the sin-offering, we need to receive the grace of God in its many aspects and applications, to fit us for so great an honor: and even then the fellowship with Him is possible only by the righteousness provided in Jesus. When Jesus inaugurated this wonderful work He expressed Himself thus: "Suffer it to be so now, for it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Our Lord's words formed a message of instruction to a fallen race, of.whom none were righteous, that God had now appointed that righteousness was to be obtained in, and through, Jesus only.
The great doctrine of justification appears to be God's appointed way whereby men may be privileged to share in the sin-offering.
It is interesting, and suggestive, to note that wherever the expression "justified," occurs in the New Testament it invariable comes from the Greek word "dikaioo." From this we gather that some similarity must be seen wherever the word is used: a correspondence, but not necessarily an exactly similar meaning, because, as Prof. Young tells us, "to justify" means "to make, or declare, right." The Scriptures say-" it is God that justifies" (Rom. 8:33). For God to make right would mean that the individual would be holy-perfect: for Him to declare right need not mean a state of perfection, but right in intention or action-a qualified state of rightness. The first thing required by God of a sinner is repentance: "Repent ye therefore."
Repentance would appear to be the first stage of justification, as clearly taught by our Lord in the parable (lesson) He gave for the purpose (Luke 18:10-14). Here Jesus teaches us that the man who confessed himself a sinner, and cried for mercy, went down to his house "having been justified" (Diaglott literal). [PE196]
The next thing God requires is conversion, a change of heart-"repent ye therefore and be converted." Such a state indicates a progression in justification, a drawing nearer to perfection, and Jesus says: "By thy words thou shalt be justified"; the good words spoken being an indication of the converted state of the heart, as the context shows.
Faith continuing to develop according to knowledge and a fuller appreciation of God's plan of salvation in Jesus, brings a still further advancement towards holiness, perfection, peace, and life. Jesus said "According to your faith be it unto you," and the Apostle Paul expresses it thus: "Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God." (Rom. 5:1.)
Thus far justification is of a "declared" character, not the end in view, but arranged to convey one to the final stage of justification to life-a "making" right. To fail to proceed would mean to receive the grace of God in vain-the object in view not being attained to; but this would not mean loss of life for the individual, he never having been justified to life. So far he has been "declared" right, but not "made" right. The next, and final, step of justification is found in Rom. 5:9, where we read "by much more then having been justified now in the blood of Him"-a "making" right. The Scriptures tell us that "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). Hence the expression "justified now in the blood of Him" is a hidden way of saying justified in the human life of Him. These are the "mercies of God" whereby it is possible to present to God a living, holy, and acceptable (human) sacrifice "our reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1).
The sin-offering forms the basis for forgiveness of sins (making atonement), thus affecting mankind from the moral, or righteousness, point of view. It provides for atonement from sin, but does not provide life for anyone.
In Hebrews 13:10-13, is clearly set forth what the sacrifices of the Gospel Age (the antitypical Atonement Day) are. We read "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach."
Those spoken of as serving the tabernacle are the consecrated, and anointed, Priests, both in type and anti-type. Which means that those, thus called of God today, have an altar whereof they have no right to [PE197] eat. Had Jesus, the first of these favored ones, partaken of the offering, He Himself placed upon the altar for sacrifice, He would have been unacceptable to God as an offering for sin. The Apostle would remind all who are sharing this experience with Jesus, that their offering must be wholly and totally consumed in like manner "for the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin, are burned without the gate," "let us go forth therefore unto Him (Jesus) bearing His reproach." If we take back from the altar any part of the offering we make to God we shall lose for ourselves the privileges and honors of the Christ of God. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints" (Psalm 116:15); "It is a faithful saying: for if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him" (2 Tim. 2:11). "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10). Quite clearly the meaning of the references in Hebrews is that the offering of the footstep followers of Jesus must be wholly consumed upon the altar; and the reason for this is equally clear, namely because their sacrifice forms part of the sin-offering (Rom. 15:16), the completing of Jesus' sacrifice, as typically shown by the commingling of the blood of the goat with that of the bullock upon the propitiatory. (Leviticus 16:15).
Jesus, the Lamb of God, delighted to do His Father's will. The course marked out for Him was a remarkable one. He "made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefor God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name." "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," for God has predestinated that the Bride of Christ must first be conformed to His image (Rom. 8:29). Those who demonstrate their loyalty to their heavenly Bridegroom under the various tests now upon us, filling up of the afflictions left behind of Christ for the Body's sake will be counted worthy to form the Bride, the second Eve. O glorious prospect drawing near-the marriage of the Lamb! "They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut." When the marriage is consummated, and the virgins, the Bride's companions that follow her, are brought into the King's palace, with gladness and rejoicing, then the regeneration of Adam's race, for whom atonement will have been made, will begin, and "the fathers shall become the children" of the Bride and Bridegroom, and they shall be made princes in all the earth, as co-laborers in the glorious work-the restitution of all things made possible through the sacrifice of the man [PE198] Christ Jesus.